1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for providing instructions for the operation of multi-function devices, such as appliances and other equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern homes, offices, factories, and laboratories are full of high-tech appliances and equipment, most of which are used without formal training. In spite of attempts to make them easy to use, common experience is that many of these devices are indeed hard to use, with difficulty of programming a video cassette recorder (VCR) being a frequently cited example. Many users lack the patience to figure out the instructions from written manuals provided with the devices and, in many cases, the manuals cannot be found even if the user is desperate enough to read through and follow the written instructions. This often results in less than complete utilization of the features of the device, loss of use with a minor breakdown, or simply being unable to proceed with the operation of the device.
Users want devices that are high-tech in content but low-tech in ease of use. In spite of attempts to make user interfaces intuitive, most of them are not intuitive at all and some are indeed very hard to use. Providing a simple user interface is complicated by a very large and diverse customer base as well as by price constraints.
In order to get around this problem, some devices offer other means for making it easy to use a device. For example, VCR's offer features such as on-screen programming, although one still has to read a manual to become familiar with how to use it. Some devices, such as photocopy machines, offer a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an "i" button to get information on use or trouble-shooting. Nevertheless, it is not economical to provide an LCD display to provide visual help instructions on all devices.